26 Jun (NucNet): The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued a licence for Louisiana Energy Services (LES) to construct and operate the 1.5 billion US dollar (1.2 billion euros) National Enrichment Facility (NEF) in New Mexico, completing an environmental and safety review process that lasted more than two years.
LES president Jim Ferland said the licence means the NEF has become the first major commercial nuclear facility to be licensed in the US in 30 years, and the first ever to receive a combined construction and operating licence, or COL.
The NEF will mark the first commercial use in the US of gas centrifuge technology for enriching uranium.
LES, which submitted its licence application for the NEF in December 2003, said in a statement on 23 June 2006 it would now go to the board of parent company Urenco in early July for authorisation to go ahead with construction and operation of the NEF. Urenco is 100% owner of the NEF through its subsidiary LES.
Urenco said today it is anticipated that its board will approve the launch of the project with ground-breaking to take place in August 2006. Last year LES said it expected the facility to begin production in 2008 and reach full production by 2013.
The NEF will produce low-enriched uranium using gas centrifuge technology that was developed and has been operated by Urenco for more than 30 years. The facility would enrich uranium for use in fuel for commercial nuclear power reactors by increasing the proportion of the U-235 isotope to as high as 5% by weight.
LES said US utilities have demonstrated “significant support” for the NEF with firm contractual commitments already in place. Accepted and committed contracts now exceed USD 3 billion. In February 2005, LES announced a contract between the NEF and the US South Texas Project nuclear power plant for the supply of enriched uranium.
In May 2005, the NRC issued the final environmental impact statement for another enrichment facility, USEC’s commercial American Centrifuge Plant to be built in Ohio. USEC expects to receive a licence for the plant in early 2007 and begin construction later the same year.
